Our organs are ageing with different speeds, and a blood test that determines how much they are old every year, can predict the risk of disorders such as lung cancer and heart disorders tens of years later, finds a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers.
The findings published in The Lancet Digital HealthShow how accelerated aging in specific organs can not only predict diseases that influence that organ, but also diseases in the rest of the body.
Our organs function as an integrated system, but they can age with different speeds. Older in particular organs can contribute to numerous aging -related diseases, so it is important for us to take care of all aspects of our health.
“We have discovered that a quick and easy blood test can identify or a specific organ ages faster than expected. In the coming years, blood tests can play a crucial role in preventing countless diseases.
“I believe that in the future of health care the prevention of age -related diseases could start much earlier, give priority to those who would benefit most and tailor interventions on individual risk profiles.”
Mika Kivimaki, Main author, professor, UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences
The research team, led by scientists from UCL Brain Sciences, the UCL Institute of Healthy Aging, Stanford University, Inserm and the University of Helsinki, analyzed data from participants of the British Whitehall II study, a longitudinal cohort study that has since run. 1985 and is now led by Professor Kivimaki as director.
The researchers analyzed blood samples in the late 1990s of more than 6,200 middle -aged adults to determine the biological age of nine organs (heart, blood vessels, liver, immune system, pancreas, kidneys, lungs, intestine and brain) and for the whole body. They measure the gap between the chronological (real) age of a person, and the rated biological age of each of their organs as determined by markers of aging specific to that organ, and discovered that organs often ages with different speeds in the same person .
The health status of the participants was followed for 20 years through national health registers. Towards the end of the follow-up period, they were 65-89 years old and many were diagnosed with at least one of the aging diseases investigated in this study.
Follow-up data showed that accelerated organ aging predicted the risk of 30 different diseases in the next 20 years with healthy people initially. For example, a heart that predicted outdated faster a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, while people with accelerated lung aging were susceptible to respiratory infections, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and lung cancer.
Surprisingly, the highest risk of dementia was found in those whose immune system outdated faster than normal – not in those whose brain is aging faster in the midlife. The scientists say that this result supports earlier findings that people are susceptible to serious infections also run a higher risk of dementia at a later age. The finding also suggests that inflammatory processes can play a key role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
The researchers discovered that the kidney health was primarily linked to other organs, because people with accelerated kidney aging more often developed vascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and liver diseases, while biological aging of almost all organs predicted an increased risk of kidney disorders.
The researchers say that, since our organs function in close coordination, accelerated aging in one organ can affect the function of others, which can explain why people with a rapidly aging organ were particularly susceptible to experiencing multiple age -related diseases about different organs .
For many years, blood biomarkers (measurable health indicators) were measured separately, making the process expensive and inefficient, especially when analyzing several markers. In the past decade, technological progress has been quickly advanced and today thousands of proteins can be measured from a single blood sample at the same time.
Blood protein concentrations fluctuate in response to environmental factors, lifestyle, diseases and medicines. As a result, new proteomic (protein -based) analyzes offer a valuable window to monitor the pace of aging.
The researchers say that their findings support a future shift in health care into more personalized and effective disease prevention. With proteomic signatures of organ aging, the risk of age -related diseases can be identified earlier, preventive measures can be focused more effectively and interventions can be adapted to the risk profile of each person.
Professor Kivimaki added: “We hope that our findings can contribute to new ways to help people stay healthy longer as they get older. Blood tests can advise whether a person should take better care of a certain organ and possibly offer an early warning signal That they run the risk of a certain disease. “
This study was supported by Wellcare, the Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health and the Research Council of Finland.
Source:
Journal Reference:
Kivimäki, M., et al .. (2025). Proteomic organ-specific aging signatures and 20-year-old risk of age-related diseases: the Whitehall II Observational Cohort study. The Lancet Digital Health. doi.org/10.1016/j.landig.2025.01.006.